Open Window
by maipigen
Summary: Sometimes the window of opportunities aren't as closed as one might think. Set after season 3 so spoilers for the entire seasons. If you like, please review.


**I don't own VM or any of its franchise**

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**A/N So...I know I'm suppossed to try to figure out another chapter for Underestimated Return and I'm trying...honestly...sigh. This piece isn't my best, but I had to try and write some VM again to see if I could get my "Groove" bad or whatever. I wrote it for the VM Game On Challenge, Round Ten over at Livejournal. If you actually wind up liking it, go there and vote for me when the times come...lol. Anyway, please try to enjoy...**

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**_I haven't got a beta for this little thing, but if you find any glaring mistakes, please let me know._**

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**Open Window**

_So here we are again; a new year, the start of classes, a new beginning, a window of opportunities. Yeah, right, when has that ever happened to me?_

The tiny blond snorted at her own thoughts and tried to focus on not reacting to the looks she received; even now, months after everything that had happened with Piz, the video tape and Logan's subsequent fight with the guilty party in the cafeteria.

Veronica bit her lip, the thought of that day when Logan had swooped down upon Gory Sorokin like a mythological beast of vengeance to defend her honor, still made her a bit weak in the knees. But she'd be damned if she'd ever admit it, though. Especially now…

With a sigh, Veronica lifted her bag a higher up on her shoulder and started making her way to the first class in her second year of college. When she finally arrived and was in the midst of sitting down in the nearest seat, Veronica froze when she recognized the person sitting next to her.

It was a tiny blond, not unlike herself, but with a voluptuous figure that would make most women envious and make men scream, "Hallelujah," at the top of their lungs. The name of the living deity was Susan Meyers. Veronica hated her with every fiber of her being.

Why you ask? Because she was in a serious relationship with the one person Veronica thought would never truly leave her. Logan Echolls.

Even now, two months after she'd discovered that Logan had met and evidently fallen head over heels with the other blond, it hurt like nothing else. Veronica was considering sneaking away to another seat, when Susan noticed her and smiled widely up at her.

_And that is one of the other reasons why I hate her_, Veronica narrated internally, _she's so damn perky all the time…_

"Veronica! Hi! Oh, this is just _wonderful _to see you, how's your summer been?"

Feeling a bit contrite about her internal bitching, Veronica produced a semi authentic smile as she answered, "Hey, Susan. I've just been working, you know the usual…"

Susan's smile grew, if possible, even bigger and she leaned forward a bit, "Oh, I'm sooo jealous of you. I heard you were in an honest to God real internship at the FBI. I bet that was great, I mean, Logan keeps bragging about his friend; the future Clarice Starling, and nothing really impresses him, so I know it's a big thing and…Oh, I'm sorry, I'm babbling. I've been up all night preparing for class."

_And here's yet another reason_, Veronica couldn't quite stop herself from thinking as she fought down the pain that had flared up when she heard that Logan was proud of her. _She's a straight A student, so I can't even mock her intelligence. _

Susan's eyes looked amused and Veronica finally realized that she hadn't replied to Susan's earlier talk and quickly muttered the usual advertisement for the FBI.

Fortunately for Veronica's mood, the teacher entered the classroom and Susan quickly started to concentrate on him instead of her. Veronica couldn't make herself focus, the startling realization of having Susan in her class was just enough to completely derail her. And to make things even worse, Veronica couldn't help but notice that Susan smelled like Logan's familiar aftershave, which had to mean that he'd walked her to class and kissed her.

_Maybe they even spent the night together, doing the horizontal tango all night long and- No, girly girl_, Veronica ended the thought brutally. She was not willing to suffer through any mental pictures.

When the class ended, Veronica exited her seat with the speed of a bullet. _Why is it so hard for me to be around her?_ She tried to reason with herself as she wove her way through the crowd. _I mean, __**I**__ left him because __**I**__ couldn't get over him sleeping with Madison. I got together with Piz. I can't expect Logan to follow me around like a lost puppy for the rest of my life. You reap what you sow, Veronica Mars. _

Stopping next to a soda machine, Veronica whimpered internally, _but why did he have to choose the perfect me? She's well endowed, I'm not; she's perky, I'm definitely not perky. She's a devout Christian and I'm more like an atheist, who sometimes sees another dead blond. She's rich and I'm not and-_

_No_, Veronica grabbed her newly purchased coke and forced down her growing self-pity. _It's not like, I can change anything now. _

"Veronica?"

Veronica dropped the can in her hands in surprise, when Susan's tinkling voice reached her ears and she spun around, nearly tripping on said can in the process. _Stellar moves there, Mars_; she mocked herself inwardly before meeting Susan's eyes.

"Uhm, sorry if I startled you," Susan apologized, but then quickly jumped into what she wanted to say, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you for a bit, but you're never around. I'm having a party tonight; a sort ofwelcome back to school thing that Logan and I are gonna host at his hotel and I was wondering if you'd like to come? I mean, Logan would love for you to come. You can even bring a date, he said, he'd love for you to be happy…"

"Susan, stop." Veronica demanded quietly, crouching down to wipe up the mess she'd made. Without looking at the other female, she added, "I know you mean well, but I don't wanna be your friend. I _can't_ be your friend because I don't really like you and you most definitely don't like me, because unlike Logan, you can see that I'm very much still in love with him. At least," Veronica threw in her final addendum, meeting Susan's now angry eyes, "you wouldn't be the smart girl I know you to be, if you hadn't figured that one out yet."

Susan clenched her fists and for one brief moment, Veronica thought she was going to knock her into the ground, but then Susan spoke. "Of course, I know you're in love with him. And yes, I don't like it one bit, but like it or not, Logan wants you in his life. I'm not gonna be a hysteric, screaming bitch about it, I'm not gonna moan about him carrying you in his heart, because unlike you, I know he's the best catch around. So, I'll act all sweet and innocent around you to please my man, and _my_ man wants you at our party tonight, so show up."

"No thanks," Veronica answered, hoisting her bag on her shoulder once again, "I'm happy that you and he are ever so much in love, but I just can't stomach it right now. Just tell him, I was sick or something, okay?"

Veronica sent a genuine smile at Susan, whose anger was still visible in her perfect features, and hurried outside, to her car to enjoy what she had left of her break.

**OoOo**

It took a bit of effort, but eventually, Veronica's mood turned upwards and she finished the rest of that day's classes without any other drama. She still suffered through the looks and whisperers from her classmates, and Mac and Wallace tried to cheer her up during lunch. Even Dick managed to spend some time being civil towards her in the one class they had together. When she finally came home, her father was sitting by the kitchen counter, doing what looked like paperwork.

"Hi Honey," he greeted without looking at her, too focused on whatever it was he was doing.

Ever since the whole mess about Keith protecting Veronica one too many times and thus losing his sheriff election one more time, things had been a bit strained between the father and daughter, and Veronica was trying her hardest to earn back his trust.

The moment her internship had ended, Veronica had doubled her hours in the office, trying to make things as smooth as possible for Keith, while he was out solving the cases that the current sheriff, Van Lowe, didn't really care about. _Maybe someday, he'll even let me chat a bit with dear old Vinnie without being afraid of me going to jail…again._

Snapping out of her mind, Veronica settled down next to Keith and asked with a smile, "So what are you up to? You look mighty intense right now, I'd be careful not to be seen like that; you might ruin your image as a carefree goofball, you know."

Keith grinned, and for once, it didn't seem forced. "Well, little Miss Teaser, I'm actually just finishing up my latest case. You know the undercover cocaine dealer that I placed near the Fitzpatricks and their people? Well, he was under attack last night and had to break cover and long, uninteresting story short, he solved the case and ergo, I didn't have to do anything but paperwork. So here I am."

Keith glared at the paper in front of him and muttered, "Although I'd trade places with him in a heartbeat right about now."

Veronica shook her head. "You know, just leave me the cliff notes and I'll finish it later. I can go to the office after I've eaten a bit and you don't have to worry about it anymore."

Keith's eyes landed on her as she ended her offer and to her surprise, Veronica could see some guilt in his blue-grey orbs. "Veronica, don't."

"What?"

Keith sighed and straightened up, looking her dead in the eye as he continued to speak, "Honey, don't think I haven't noticed all the time you've spent around the office lately. I know you're still feeling bad about the election and I know I didn't exactly treat you completely like I usually did at that time, but I had some feelings to work through. But, believe me, Veronica; you're still the best thing in my entire world and I need you to stop beating yourself up about this. You've suffered through enough persecution in your life; don't bring it home with you anymore. I love you and believe it or not, business has never been better, so I'm not suffering one bit."

Veronica blinked rapidly, trying to overcome the sudden burning in her eyes as her father continued softly, "The people of Neptune took a poll between Vinnie and me. I lost, end of story. Don't beat yourself up anymore."

There was a long silence and Veronica could almost feel the relief pouring out of her. A part of her would probably never stop feeling guilty about everything, but knowing that her dad was still in her corner when no one else seemed to be, really helped a lot.

"Oh, by the way," Keith suddenly stated with a peculiar look in his eyes, "a certain dashing young man, called earlier. Apparently, your cell phone wasn't on, so he called me instead."

Veronica's relief instantly turned into a mix between fear and hope. "Really? Who might that be?"

Keith got to his feet and made a dash toward the door to his bedroom. "Well," he informed her before closing the door, "Logan of course. He needed to talk to you and I told him when you'd be home, so he's probably gonna be here any minute now."

Ignoring the fluttering of panicked butterflies doing summersaults in her stomach, Veronica abandoned her food and ran out to her car. A part of her just knew that Logan had somehow heard about the tiny confrontation she'd had with his girlfriend and was on his way to scold her. Another, smaller part was just in plain escape mode. She hadn't actually talked to Logan since the day she'd come home from her internship. That was the day he'd introduced her to Susan and she'd avoided him ever since.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

Logan's voice sounded from behind her and Veronica froze. "I-I just need some groceries," she stuttered out, hating the nerves running through her body as she slowly turned around.

Logan was looking particularly handsome, at least that was the thing Veronica's hungry eyes concluded after a quick glance over his tall frame and muscular body, before settling on his face. The look he was sending her was dark, almost visceral, and Veronica swallowed down her instinctive need to flee, like she always did when it concerned him.

"Did you need something?" She finally said when Logan made no move to speak. He was just staring at her with a look in his eyes that she couldn't quite decipher.

"Yes," Logan answered, taking one step closer to her. The smell of his aftershave reached Veronica's senses and she took in a deep breath, allowing her memory to cling to that smell for the future.

"I heard about you and Susan's little spat."

Veronica grimaced. "It wasn't that bad, Logan. I'm sure Susan will say the same thing. We just cleared a few things up, that's all."

Logan still didn't say a word and Veronica tried again, "but if I've hurt her feelings, I'll apologize."

Logan's lips twisted into his signature smirk and Veronica frowned. "What is it?"

"Veronica, do you realize one thing?"

Veronica raised a brow in confusion.

"I'm pissed off at you. I told you I loved you more than anything more times than I can count and you never said it back to me – No," Logan held up a hand to stop Veronica from interrupting, "you never actually said the words to my face, which is why I'm pissed about you saying them to the girl I was dating in a crowded hall for all to hear."

Veronica's heart rate escalated and a part of her was hoping that it wouldn't jump out of her chest. The rest of her was simply dumbstruck by her ex-boyfriend's words. "Oh?" she managed to get through her lips.

Logan took a step further, ending up just inside her comfort zone. He placed his hands around her much smaller frame, on the car. "Yeah. I was actually standing not too far away, so I sort of caught the whole conversation. Now, tell me," Logan's smirk turned devious, "_why_ didn't you tell me that you loved me? I've always made my feelings clear to you, Veronica."

Veronica broke the stare and looked down on the ground. She felt some uncharacteristic warmth growing in her cheeks, signaling the arrival of an embarrassing blush. _Come on, Mars, tell him; lay it all out there for once in your life!_

After her internal pep talk, Veronica looked back up and met Logan's eyes head on. "I wanted to chase after you that day in the cafeteria so badly, but Piz was there. We broke up the day I left for my internship; he said he wasn't surprised, because he knew from the start that I was too hooked up on you. I almost backed out of the whole FBI thing, because I couldn't stop thinking about you. When I came back, I promised myself that I'd find you and beg you to come back to me and then I met Susan."

Logan's smirk faded into a serious, blank mask as he listened intently to her tale. "I couldn't stand being around you two. She was everything I am and then some. You looked at her and seemed so happy. I couldn't stand it. Then she kept trying to force her way into my circle of friends. All because you, apparently wanted me to be happy, that you wanted us all to get along. Today was just the final drop in a cup that's been full for ages. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble yet again, Logan and I know that I'm the one who ended things because of Madison, but that was the dumbest thing I ever did, because I lost you and it hurts every time you're around me now and I can't wrap my arms around you. Because," Veronica took a deep breath and finally said the one thing she'd never been able to before, "I love you. And now, I've probably caused major drama in your relationship and I don't want that. I'll go back to the shadows or whatever, letting you be happy. I'm sorry Logan."

Logan's eyes were blank for one excruciatingly long moment and then he blinked. Veronica's heart caught in her throat as she witnessed the changes in him. His smirk turned into a real, gentle smile and his eyes softened in a way she hadn't seen in ages.

"Veronica Mars, you really aren't as clever as you think you are. I broke up with Susan the minute you turned around and left her standing in the hallway today. I've been trying to reach you ever since, because despite what you think; you're the most beautiful and perfectly imperfect woman in the world for me, and I'd be really stupid to settle when I can have you." Logan stated with a soft chuckle.

Veronica was about to respond with Logan moved forward, gently cupping her face with his large hands, and kissed her softly on the lips. Veronica's world turned upside down and before she knew it, she was kissing him back, deepening the kiss.

A second later, Logan abruptly moved his head back a little. His eyes glinting with emotions that she couldn't even begin to interpret in her present state of mind. "This is it for me, Veronica." He warned, "It'll work this time or never again. No more running; no more secrets. Promise me, because it'll kill me to go through that again."

Veronica smiled, feeling more like herself than she'd been in ages. "Logan, I can't promise you forever. But I'm damn sure gonna try."

With a quick headshake, Logan bent back down and kissed her again. She felt his hands trail down her body, grabbing her butt and swiftly lifting her onto the hood of her car. Veronica promptly wrapped her legs around his waist, eager to feel the evidence of his desire for her against her. _If I could bottle up this feeling, I'd be the richest person in the world_, Veronica thought halfway into her lustful daze.

Keith's voice suddenly interfered with the glorious reunion moment and Logan and Veronica jumped apart like two naughty schoolchildren. "Hey, you two. Happy about you getting back together again and all, but just FYI, I'm still too young to be a grandfather, so tone it down a bit!"

The two reunited lovers rolled their eyes in unison, but grinned as they walked towards the Mars residence hand in hand.

_Okay, so maybe my window of opportunities wasn't entirely shut. Now all I need to do, is figure out a way to spend the night at my former ex-boyfriends house without earning myself a lot of hassle from the future grandfather and I'm all set…_

**The End**


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